Monday Musings: Once Upon a Time Season 7 (So Far)

A while back I shared my wish list for Season 7 of Once Upon a Time, and now that we're halfway into the season, I thought I'd take a look at how well the show has fulfilled my wishes.

• Henry's daughter's name: because calling her "Little Girl" only works for so long. Plus, we all know names are important, so I expect hers to be very telling. I watched the ending again tonight. Her name is Lucy. As in "light"; reinforcing my idea she's the new Savior. 

Still no word on who the Savior is in this new Curse, and given the importance of Lucy's belief, I still think she's a candidate. However, with her in a coma, it's possible that Henry is the Savior, as they've been emphasizing his belief (or lack thereof) as well.

• Who her mother is: because it certainly isn't Violet, Henry's first girlfriend (last seen meeting him at the school bus before the final time jump in the finale). My personal theory is that it's Tiger Lily because Henry says "take the book to your mother" and the next time we see the girl, she's with Tiger Lily. BUT she calls her "Tiger Lily" so maybe not?

We reveal this in the premiere. Her mom is Cinderella 2.0. Still waiting for Tiger Lily to return in a larger role.

• Why Henry isn't in Storybrooke (or the realm where he vanished after giving his daughter the Book), why he doesn't remember his own daughter, and how exactly he ended up in Seattle.

They've addressed this. He's Cursed like everyone else. He doesn't even remember his family (Storybrooke family OR New Enchanted Forest family).

• A season-long arc: because season six proved this is the way to go for Once.

This seems to be the case, since there haven't been any signs of 11-episode blocks. Hooray!

• The battle for Henry's belief to take more than two episodes: because the last time we fought for anyone's belief for longer was season one with Emma, and since the last scene of season six was clearly an homage to Henry showing up on her doorstep, this had better be a long haul battle for them.

Yep. This is part of the season-long arc so far. I expect they might solve it before the season finale, but maybe not. It'd be nice to not have it be the climax of the season.

• Whether or not Henry is still the Author: because it seems strange for him to be hiding out like this if he is.

He is, but he's not actively using his powers. And there are supposedly other Authors of other Books we'll be dealing with.

• A strong season-one vibe, with lots of introductions and ground-laying, without retreading too much. This season can (and in my mind, should) serve as a sequel to the previous six. It's the Girl Meets World to their Boy Meets World. It's the revival/reunion show. The showrunners should make that work in their favor. This is a chance to bring in lots of new viewers while keeping the old ones.

This has been pretty solid so far; some homages to S1 while still continuing the stories of the old characters and keeping the new stories growing properly.

• Storybrooke: The Next Generation: when we finish season six, there are (at least) five royal babies floating about Storybrooke -- Neal, Robin, Alexandra, Gideon, and Aurora's baby (whose name I've forgotten). These kids should all be at least 12 by the time Henry returns, perfect for interacting with his daughter and maybe even playing a larger role in the story (especially since many of their parents aren't slated to return).

Gideon got a guest spot and I don't expect him back. Robin is in for a recurring role. The others are all out of the picture it seems, but there are other TNG characters like Lucy and Alice/Tilly who are filling out this desire. I'm also wondering if we'll ever see that baby hinted at in episode 2 again.

• A proper send-off for Emma: since Hook is expected to return and there's a significant time jump, I expect Emma's strongly hinted at guest appearance to be a perfect stage-setter for Henry's journey while still not taking away the happy ending from season six. Maybe they time-travel Hook away. Maybe there's a sleeping curse. Maybe it's just Hook from the Wish Realm. But don't tear up this marriage you just spent six seasons building towards.

Ok. So I was actually not totally off bask with that Wish Realm comment. I forgot about it during the summer break, but yeah. We get Emma and Hook off to their happily ever after (though I still want just a little more in that area) and then bring in WR Hook as our Hook for the season (and it works really well).

• Speaking of, Gold CANNOT go dark again. Not after everything he just went through. Not after you FINALLY gave him redemption. If this happens, I will quit the show and never EVER look back. (You've done this to me TWICE now, Once. I won't be burned a third time.)

So far, they're treading this road carefully, never quite letting him go completely dark but still letting him be the always-plotting, ever-clever Rumple we know and love. His search for the Guardian is going to make this season completely worthwhile (if they don't bungle it in the last quarter).

• That said, I'm open to bringing back Wish Realm Rumple because Rumple is so much fun.

We haven't seen him yet, but it's still possible I suppose.

• A new Savior. Emma is clearly gone from the picture, and Rumple has fulfilled his destiny of defeating the Black Fairy. It's time for a new Savior on the scene. But I'm not sure it should be Henry. Yes, he's the son of a Savior and her True Love, the grandson of the last Dark One (who it's also implied is the original Savior). But I think part of Henry's journey this season needs to be stepping into his roles as father and Author, and part of that will be realizing that he is not the Savior -- but perhaps his daughter is.

There's definitely a Savior in the mix, but there's no real landing on who it is, mostly because the big "WHO?" mystery this season has been "Who is the Guardian?" (the one person who can take up the Dark One's dagger and not be corrupted).

• I don't want to see more old characters shoe-horned in "because we can"; this has failed multiple times before. Give us characters with story arcs.

So far, we've had very little shoehorning. Zelena is back with some complications. Tiger Lily has cameoed. Most everyone else is new.

• Please don't realm-hop for the sake of putting it in the show. There are lots of Disney and fairy tale stories you have yet to explore, but make it part of the season's heart and the characters' journeys. Rapunzel was wasted in season three because you shoe-horned her in rather than giving her a real story arc. Don't do that this season.

We have seen a grand total of two non-Earth realms this season: Wonderland (not the same as the spin-off as far as we can tell) and the New Enchanted Forest. We actually got a decent Rapunzel story (a couple of times over), and they're exploring new versions of "Cinderella" and Alice in Wonderland and adding other stories like The Princess and the Frog. So far I'm pleased with how they've handled things, though there are still characters who are being sold short for my money (like Tiana).

• Lily's father: okay, this one I'm not 100 percent sure I want, because at this point I'd be satisfied with a simple throwaway line about how Lily and Maleficent found the Dragon and they went off to one of the realms to live happily ever after. But address it someway, because you've promised it too many times now.

Yeah. This isn't happening. I'm okay with it. That ship has sailed.

Some things I'm hoping for in the second half:

• Rumple finds the Guardian and gives up power. 100% happy ending. Fin.
• Let us actually meet the other Authors and see them interact (this may be something to save for S8, but let it happen).
• The poisoned hearts need to be cured. I don't think you can feasibly drag those plotlines out for more than 1 season, but let them be cured without waving a wand. (For example, the way Snow and Charming's curse was broken last season was perfect. Give us an ending like that.)
• The Coven of the Eight needs to be formidable and probably not entirely vanquishable this season. If you're going to bring in big guns for this, make them worth it. (Do NOT make this Queens of Darkness 2.0. You WASTED those characters.)
• Anastasia to be more than a pawn in everyone's games. I don't want to see her become a villain, but I want her to grow. (Perhaps she winds up being the Savior?)
• Redemption (or the chance of it) for Ivy/Drizella. You've made a point of drawing parallels between her and Regina, so make good on that.
• For that matter, redemption for Rapunzel Tremaine. At the very least, let her get closer to that loving mother we saw in the flashback. Let her show remorse for the things she's done.
• More moments of Tilly with her father and Rumple and those strange friendships they all have. These have been very sweet and moving scenes so far, and I want to see more as these relationships grow.
• More of Tiana's backstory. I know it's coming, but she feels like a weak link right now and I want to see her story given more strength.

Have you been keeping up with Once this season? What are you hoping for in the next 12 episodes? Who do you think the Guardian will turn out to be? Tell me down below!